Booker81's Meatie Thread - Four processed so far! (pics)

[booker81]

This is my first time selling, so I'm making it easy on myself and probably running cheap - $8 a bird. Based on last batches results, that should get me about $1-2 profit - but more interesting for me is it's cutting the cost for the ones I'm keeping (which is the "real" reason I wanted to do this). There are a few more folks interested, so I'll "sell" up to 8 more, which will make the last 10 I want to keep free for me other than time and labor.

I'm getting a lot of interest, but I have no intention of becoming a chicken farmer. I just like to raise them, and if I can raise enough to sell so that I don't have to put money into the ones in my freezer, I'll be happy

 

[booker81]

Here we are at not quite two weeks - about 12 days or so

Already getting gawky and annoying.

I did lose one that just wasn't thriving, so I'm at 41. All the rest are doing great, and it's obvious which ones are boys, some of them have some serious attitudes and have taken to posturing at me already. Little do they know I'll win this war!

I need to finish up the fencing in the garden to move them out soon. They probably will get another week or so in their coop, but then they'll be getting booted out to the garden

 

[hydroswiftrob]

I think you could literally see them grow!

 

[booker81]

Here we are at 18 days! Sorry for the totally tilted shot, I didn't realize I was that off. Mr. Chicken Nugget wasn't cooperating much either.

I was going to turn them loose into the garden, but we seem to have a rash of feral cats out here again, and I don't want to spend as much cash as needed to cat-proof the garden fencing, so I have started expanding their coop. I elongated it a bit, and the goofy things were racing back and forth, not in panic, but just to be goofy. After a couple laps, they settled back down to eating and drinking.

 

[wyoDreamer]

Wow, look at the legs on that thing!
Maybe it is just the picture, but those legs are thick.

 

[booker81]

Yup, they have some mighty big legs on them - another reason I like this batch - those legs should hold them well with the weight they're gaining.

Some of the boys are already trying to attack my hand pretty well when I was spreading their new shavings. They think they're pretty bad stuff. They've got about four weeks left.

 

[MeatKing]

They look Great!! Love to see Meaties, thank you for sharing!!

 

[halo]

Im getting my Schlecht chicks on the 7th. I had halfway decided not to do them, just didnt think I wanted to bother. I then went to the store and saw that 4 chicken breasts were $14, came home, and called in my order. When I did the experimental batch this spring, a couple of them grew to about 9 weeks, and their breasts were monstrous, almost like turkey breasts.

Are you going to skin them or pluck them? Do you freeze them whole, or do you cut them into parts?

 

[hydroswiftrob]

WOW!

They have doubled size in one week!

 

[booker81]

Quote:
I pluck and freeze whole. A lot of them have been sold already, so I just have to freeze them up and then the folks will get them.

We aren't lacking for freezer space here - we have the "indoor" freezer - a 7 or 8 cuft chest freezer, the "outside" freezer in the garage - a full sized upright freezer, and the "spare" freezer in the garage - I think it's a 40cuft or so chest freezer. Right now is the beginning of deer season, so we're about out of venison, which means only the indoor freezer is full, the outside freezer is about half full, and the spare is completely empty.

Can't have too many freezers